A ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for the newly expanded Clermont County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 22. The addition of the two-story, 8,000 square foot building doubles the size of the old EOC, located at 2279 Clermont Center Drive in Batavia Township; the expansion includes an underground EOC and additional office space for county technology services.

"The bottom line of this expansion is that the center will better serve the needs of Clermont County citizens when an emergency occurs," said Board of Clermont County Commissioners (BCC) President Bob Proud.

"The expansion will give us more flexibility when we are involved in major situations like flooding, tornadoes, or widespread power outages," said Clermont Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Beth Nevel. "The old EOC shared space with the 9-1-1 communications center; when countywide emergencies occurred, based on the lack of operating space, it was difficult to assemble emergency response personnel to manage the crisis," added BCC Vice President Ed Humphrey.

Following the ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony, EOC staff will be available to provide tours of the new EOC and answer questions about the facility.